Fogg Dam, one of the irrigation dams built in the 1950s, is situated
on the Adelaide River floodplains 25 km east of the town, and is one of
few publically accessible natural wetland environments in the Top End
all year round. The reserve is a wildlife refuge, and is significant
both as a remnant of the failed Territory Rice Ltd venture, and its
cultural significance to the local Aboriginal people.

Window on the Wetlands

Window On The Wetlands is an interpretive centre that provides
an insight into the Adelaide River floodplain to the east of
Darwin. The centre's observation deck offers panoramic views across the
Wetlands, which were the locality of a failed attempt to grow rice in
the NT in the 1950s. Window on the Wetlands Visitor Centre is perched
on Beatrice Hill, one of the highest points on the Adelaide River
floodplain. The Adelaide River is one of eight rivers in the Top
End which have large floodplains in their catchments. Together, their
floodplains create a great expanse of coastal wetlands, one of the
rarest and most threatened land systems in the world. They are
collectively known as the northern coastal wetlands. The Visitor Centre
provides an introduction to the northern coastal wetlands. There are
interactive displays about the ecological processes that occur in the
wetlands, the seasonal changes and the abundant
wildlife. Touchscreen computers help you explore the European and
Aboriginal history of the region as well as find out what you can see
and do in the area.

Jumping Crocodile Tours, on the Adelaide River near Humpty Doo, give
a rare opprtunity to see crocodiles in their natural habitat but in
complete safety. On each tour, a single crocodile is fed by a tour
guide who coaxes the giant creature out of the water.

Brief history

The goldrushes to the Northern Territory in the 1880s brought an
influx of Chinese miners and the area around Humpty Doo. They grew rice
successfully, as had German botanist Dr. Maurice Holtze in Darwin whose
experiments growing rubber, sugar and rice indicated that tropical
crops could be grown successfully in the NT.

Nothing further became of it until 1954 when, after considerable
experimentation by CSIRO, a scheme to irrigate the sub coastal plain of
the Adelaide River and produce a commercial rice crop was instigated.
303,000 hectares of land on the floodplain were irrigated but wild
buffalo and rats destroyed the paddy fields, birds consumed the seeds
as fast as they were sown and the soil proved to be too saline and the
drainage inadequate. By 1959 the paddy fields had been abandoned.

Origin of name

The name was first recorded in 1910 for a cattle station called
'Umpity Doo' held by Oscar Herbert. A number of explanations for the
origin of the name have been suggested. One source claims it is taken
from the Army slang term "umpty" used by military personnel in the area
during the war years for the dash when reading morse. Author W Hatfield
in his book, 'I Find Australia' (1943), claims that the name is derived
from the colloquialism "everything done wrong or upside down". Elsie
Masson's book, 'Untamed Territory', (1914) refers to the picturesque
Umdidu, which was translated by a journalist in 1953 into 'Umdudu'.
This was supposed to be an English language corruption of an aboriginal
term which meant "a popular resting place".